Bay Area Mortgage Blog

THE MILLIONAIRE FINDS HIS DREAM HOUSE When a 30-something California millionaire had his offer accepted on an exquisite lake view property, he was beyond thrilled. The listing agent, who would be selling another home to the seller, was overjoyed. The selling agent, (more accustomed to selling $20...

WILL THE LAST MORTGAGE BROKER ON EARTH PLEASE TURN OUT THE LIGHTS? Will there soon be a day when the last mortgage broker on earth quietly turns out the lights, sadly looks back, then joins the other victims on the growing list of economic extinction? Are mortgage brokers being squeezed out of th...

When the following post was written, the title asked "Why Do Realtors Trash Marketing From Mortgage Brokers?" Somewhere in the discussion (97 comments at this point in time), our passionate Realtor community here on ActiveRain decided to drop 2 words from the title and engage in a rare tell all. ...

What percentage of buyers did you get into contract last year that blew up in your face because the loan fell apart?  With the actual ratio of applications to loan closings running at about 50%, that means all of us in the real estate business spent a lot of time last year SPINNING OUR WHEELS. Me...

If California were a big furry dog, its owner would have a clogged vacuum cleaner. That's because California is SHEDDING JOBS at a fast and furious pace. What's left behind is just as worthless as a bunch of dog hair on your carpet: a big fat mess that needs to be cleaned up. Oh if it were only a...

Late last year, I developed this strange obsession with the color yellow. Bright, pure canary yellow. What the heck? Blonds don't even do yellow. It started with a craving... for of all things.... a yellow purse! Nothing else in my entire wardrobe is YELLOW. Of course I told all of my friends abo...

As a Realtor, do you detest the marketing pieces you get from mortgage brokers? Do you cringe when a mortgage broker starts walking towards you? Do you delete newsletters, crumple up rate sheets, and think this: "I already HAVE all the mortgage contacts I need, thank you very much." I am working ...

This California (vegetarian) mortgage broker is eating a  big helping of CROW today, and what do you know? It tastes great. Surely I must have been one of the first to make this declaration early in 2008: What will it matter if rates go to 2% if the house won't appraise and the buyer won't qualif...

What is the biggest misconception in the mind of the guy about to make an offer on a house?  This seller must be absolutely desperate to sell this house. I will ignore the asking price, because all houses are priced with plenty of negotiating room. Sellers expect low ball offers in this market. A...

Why do we continue to cling to the idea that to justify a purchase, it must be an EXTREME BARGAIN? Are we truly brilliant because we can buy something at 70% off? Or are we just plain stupid because the very first day it was displayed it was ALREADY 50% off?  Suggested retail price seems to be no...